


In the Midst of Life

by scatteredlogic



Category: Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Angst, F/M, Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-15
Updated: 2008-08-15
Packaged: 2017-10-12 02:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/119843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatteredlogic/pseuds/scatteredlogic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlisle must face the facts of Bella's pregnancy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Midst of Life

> In the midst of life, we are in death.  
> —The Book of Common Prayer

 

Joy lit Esme's face as Carlisle told her of Bella's pregnancy, and Esme threw herself into his arms with a soft sound of delight.

"Bella and Edward are having a baby," she echoed his words, laughing. "Oh, Carlisle, this is such wonderful news."

Hiding his unease, Carlisle looked over Esme's shoulder at Alice's tense expression and spoke to both of them. "Don't tell the rest of the family yet. There are things I want to research first, and Alice, I'll need to speak with you later."

He needed to know exactly what vision had caused Alice to interrupt Edward and Bella's honeymoon with a frantic telephone call, but Alice refused to meet his eyes.

"Then Jasper and I are going hunting," Alice said. "We'll be back in a few hours."

Before Carlisle could ask her to wait, she'd slipped through the door and was gone.

Esme pulled back, her arms still wrapped around him and her smile brilliant. "I think I'll start working on a baby blanket."

"Esme, you shouldn't--" Carlisle began, but she pressed a light kiss to his lips, interrupting him.

"I promise that no one else will know what I'm knitting until you're ready to share the news," she said, still smiling widely. "I have some cashmere that will be perfect for a baby blanket."

She hugged him quickly and went upstairs, murmuring to herself about colors and patterns, while Carlisle turned toward his study.

~*~

Hours later, useless medical texts spread out before him, Carlisle propped his elbows on the desk and held his head in his hands. The information in the books was useless for his purposes, and for the first time in over three hundred years, he wished he could drink himself into an alcoholic stupor.

The phone conversation with Bella and Edward made it apparent that Bella's pregnancy was advancing more rapidly than normal. Carlisle winced at that word. There was nothing normal about this situation. He hadn't thought a vampire and a human could produce a child, but he'd been wrong, and now they would all pay for his ignorance.

There were several possibilities before him, all of them horrific. The potential for the child to be completely human was minuscule, and Carlisle discounted it out of hand. Most likely, either Bella would miscarry, unable to carry a hybrid to term or the pregnancy would kill her, her fragile human body unable to cope with the stress.

The rational course of action would be to terminate the pregnancy as soon as Bella returned home. Terror had rang clearly through Edward's voice, even thousands of miles away, and his son's first priority would always be Bella's safety. Carlisle had no doubt Edward rightly viewed the pregnancy as a direct threat to her life. But just as clear had been the awe in Bella's voice.

Convincing Bella of the need for a termination would be difficult, but she was a sensible woman. Surely she could be made to see reason. However, Rosalie would be another matter entirely. Carlisle sighed. Her maternal instinct was incredibly strong, and a baby in the family would be Rosalie's dearest wish come true. She would fight before she would allow anyone to take that away from her.

As for Esme, destroying the hope he'd seen in her eyes would be the most intimate form of blasphemy. The death of her human son had never stopped haunting her, and Carlisle knew that Esme would perceive Bella and Edward's baby as a new beginning, a second chance at a lost life.

If the child even survived.... The odds were against it. The pregnancy would be virtually impossible to sustain, and then there was the Volturi to consider. Carlisle scrubbed his hands over his face. Should the Volturi learn of the baby, they would never allow such a child to live. The law was clear. The carnage and chaos caused by those immortal children so long ago had been too great to ever take such a risk again, and if the Volturi came, it would mean the destruction of his entire family.

Methodically, Carlisle closed the books on his desk and put them away. He needed to tell Esme the truth of the situation. To withhold the information and allow her hope to flourish would be cruel. For a moment he stood staring blankly at the vivid portrait of himself with Aro, Marcus and Caius. There had been a time when they were his dearest friends, but now....

The start of a new life should be a cause for celebration, but all Carlisle could see looming was death. The only question was whose death and when it would come.

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a gift for Ginny_Weasley31's birthday.


End file.
